David Chancellor

“There are now more captive lions in South Africa than wild ones; approx 8,000 vs 2,000 living in the wild. Many are reared specifically to be shot and owned by wealthy European and N. American tourists. Between 2001-2006, 1,830 lion trophies were exported. In the following five years, 4,062 trophies were exported; a 122% increase.

​As a result, in 2011 the S. African government effectively banned the practice of ‘canned hunting’ requiring an animal roam free for two years before it could be hunted. Lion breeders challenged the policy and a high court judge ruled that such restrictions were ‘not rational’ resulting in soaring numbers of trophy hunted animals.

Everything changed in July 2015 when the world learned of the death of Cecil the Lion, a beloved resident of a Zimbabwe national park where he was lured by hunters who killed and beheaded him for a trophy. Cecil was killed by Walter James Palmer; a Minnesota dentist. Suddenly, the existence of a thriving industry unbeknownst to most was out in the open.

Investigations were launched on two continents and major airlines announced they would no longer fly the trophies on their planes. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service announced new regulations on the importation of sport-hunted lions into the U.S. It was widely assumed the end of legal lion hunting was close at hand when USFWS added African lions to the endangered species list in 2015.